Wife, 17, Sees Dream Of New Life Dashed With A Knock On Her Door

NORFOLK — Michael Shannon Justice joined the Navy to escape the coal mines of Matewan, W.Va.

Michael, 21, didn't want the mines to cripple his body the way they crippled his father's.

He and his wife, Denise, 17, planned to move to Wilmington, N.C., when he got out of the Navy in November. They would get jobs with the U.S. Postal Service. Life would be easier for 3-month-old Michael Jr. than it had been for them.

But Thursday Denise and the baby were surrounded by family, and Michael was gone. He was one of the 47 sailors who died in the blast on the USS Iowa Wednesday morning.

"I still can't believe it," Denise said. "I can't imagine him dead."'

Denise had not slept since she learned one of the gun turrets on the battleship had exploded and erupted into flames. When she first heard, she feared the worst. She knew her husband often worked inside the gun room. She had heard him talk about the fear that gripped his chest when he handled the ammunition in the close, cramped quarters.

But as the night wore on, she gradually began to hope again. By Thursday morning she had convinced herself Michael was still alive.

"I was thinking he would call me as soon as he got into port," Denise said. "I had gotten my hopes up."

Instead of a telephone call from her husband, Denise heard from her sister. Hope turned to grief instantly. Soon the chaplain was there to soothe and comfort her.

For Michael's parents, the tragic news came as a knock on the door about 8 a.m. Thursday. Lois B. Justice, 44, and Danny W. Harper, 44, were lying in bed when the Navy chaplain arrived. They knew what the knock meant; they knew their son was dead.

The most vivid memory Harper carries of his stepson is the day Michael became a father.

"When the baby was born, he was a very proud father, and he was the happiest he'd ever been in his life," Harper said. "He was showing pictures around for a week. He'd bathe him; he'd diaper him. He'd make you wash your hands before he'd let you touch him."

Of all the armed forces, Michael was attracted to the Navy. Michael would call his parents almost every week and tell them of the exotic place he had sailed to. Harper often heard his stepson talk about how proud he was to be a sailor.

"It was all about size," Harper said. "He's from a small town, and the ships were bigger than the town was."

Justice called her former husband, Paul Justice Sr., to break the news to him. He took the news hard, refusing to believe the truth, saying he'd have to see the casket first.